Master planning takes off for port based zone at Dhamra

The state government has initiated the task of preparing the master plan for developing a port based manufacturing zone at Dhamra.

The cost of developing infrastructure for the proposed zone is pegged at Rs 3,100 crore. Of this, the Government of India is set to contribute Rs 1,844 crore while the balance Rs 1,256 crore will be borne by the state government The zone is planned on 7,500 acres of land.

"The master plan is being prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It is expected to be readied in three months", said a government official.

Pilot project has been approved by the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India as port based manufacturing zone under PPP (public private partnership) for Regional Integrated Development of Enterprises. It is envisioned as an economic hub for port based manufacturing enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dhamra is identified as one of the three key manufacturing hubs by the state industries department along with Kalinganagar and Paradeep.

Dhamra is home to a non-major port run by Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), part of the Adani Group, which had acquired Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) for Rs 5,500 crore.

Currently, the port is equipped with two fully mechanised berths with a combined cargo handling capacity of 25 mtpa. The two berths are capable of handling 12 million tonne of imported dry bulk cargo and 13 million tonne of cargo for exports. The port commenced commercial operations in May 2011.

Aiming to diversify its cargo base, DPCL had lined up Rs 10,000 crore expansion plan to ramp up its cargo handling capacity four fold to 100 million tonne per annum (mtpa) up from 25 mtpa presently. The port is awaiting allotment of 740 acres land from the state government to commence work on expansion.

After the second phase expansion, the port will be able to handle container cargo, liquid cargo, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and crude oil.